


betsy trombone goes to the shadows

by tamsinb



Category: Blaseball (Video Game)
Genre: Flash Fic, Gen, Speculation, please god have a conversation you two morons i am begging you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:46:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28350375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tamsinb/pseuds/tamsinb
Summary: The Garages have (another) plan to get Mike out of the shadows. All they need is a replacement.
Relationships: Mike Townsend & Betsy Trombone
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	betsy trombone goes to the shadows

_ "hey mike- _

_ listen. not really sure what it’ll be like when i go to the shadows but i figure we probably won’t get the chance to see each other in the middle or anything so i figured if i wanted to tell you anything i would have to leave you this behind. god, a letter, what am i a fucking peasant from the middle goddamn ages? fuck you for making me find a working pen. _

_ anyway. i know you’re probably mad. actually, wait, you’re probably not, not at me anyway, probably at yourself. so, stop it, bitch. i’d stab you if i were there. you spend way too much time feeling sorry for yourself. look, it’s not that complicated, okay? you’ve done more than enough of your stupid self-sacrifice routine. let someone else take over for a change. _

_ okay so time for the actually important stuff: my sourdough starter has to be discarded once a day, then you fill it back with equal parts water and flour. usually people say to discard about half but you can basically just eyeball it and it’ll be fine. i’ve got some other ones stashed around somewhere, but they’re really complicated and it’s kind of a pain, so you can let them die, it’s whatever, but make sure mike jr. survives. _

_ oh my god i just realized what i named it oh my god i’m writing in pen i can’t even erase it. _

_ well i guess i’ll be in the fuckin shadows when you read this anyway so it doesn’t really matter. don’t try to get me out, okay? i know you probably will because you never fucking listen to what me or anyone else says you stubborn fuck but. try, okay? let me do something for you. for once. _

_ i know we never really. talked about anything. any time you were back. you never seemed much for it and. and as for me, well. i think i’m just afraid, probably. that if i ever ask anybody if they actually want me around that i’ll get the answer i’m afraid of. worried that like, as gross and terrible to be around as i try to make myself, whatever lives under that in me is like a hundred times worse. i’ll work on it, how about that? i’ll spend the whole time i’m in the shadows trying to work through my shit and then when i get out - which better have NOTHING to do with you by the way - i’ll be all fixed up and normal! _

_ and then we’ll talk stuff out and we can tell each other how we feel or whatever lame ass bullshit people do. maybe i’ll actually know how i feel by then. you’re just one of the many things i’m stupid about, but i’m not stupider about anything else than you. _

_ if you show anyone else this letter i’ll stab you across fucking dimensions i swear to god. _

_ also please god keep them from writing a song about me. _

_ sorry we’ll miss getting reunited. it’s fucked up of me probably but i hope you’re sad about me not being there. sorry about that, too. _

_ see you later, _

_ b.t.” _

*******

Betsy walked into the Garages’ common area.

“Okay fucks, listen up! I’m the one we’re sending into the fucking shadows after Mike, and if anyone’s got a problem with it you’re gonna have to take it up with me! I’ve got arguments AND a knife so between those it’s basically an airtight fu-”

“Betsy,” said Teddy, “what are you talking about? Lenny went in like an hour ago.”

“What.”

“Yeah, Mike’s literally sitting right here.”

“Hey Betsy!”

“Wh. WHAT.”

“Oh, what’s that in your hand? Did you get a pen pal while I was gone?”

Betsy fled from the room, not even stopping to threaten a stab.

* * *

“C’mon, c’mon…” Betsy was hunched over in the corner of their room, trying desperately to get their lighter to come back on so they could finish burning the rest of the letter. The flame had stopped traveling once it had gotten about half way. Too much of it remained for them to stop now.

“Betsy? You i- oh, there you are!”

“Mike!! Michael!! My good friend!!” they jumped up, holding the remnants behind their back. “W- Welcome back!!”

“Uh. Good to be here.” He narrowed his eyes and the light in them was unshaded. “You weren’t always this weird, were you?”

“What are you talking about!! This is definitely typical Betsy-brand weirdness!! Just as wacky as ever!!”

“What’s that behind your back?”

“NOTHING.”

“Is it the letter you had earlier?”

“NO.”

“...It wasn’t for me, was it?”

So. It had come to this. Betsy had only one option remaining to them. They looked directly into Mike’s eyes and shoved the rest of the letter in their mouth.

“Betsy.”

But Betsy couldn’t respond. They were chewing.

“Betsy you’re being ridiculous.”

“Ghhrhnrmghgm!!”

“Spit it out, Bets.”

“Nrnrmhrm!!”

“Betsy. Spit it out. Now.”

“Fuck off! Don’t talk to me like I’m your pet!!”

“Thank you.”

Betsy looked down to see the gnarled but mostly-intact letter at their feet.

“Don’t. Don’t read it, okay?”

“Betsy, no offense, but I wouldn’t touch that in a million years.”

*******

“Did we have to come in here?”

“You’re always calmer when you’re in a kitchen.”

“Am not.”

“Are you gonna stab me about it?”

“Don’t got the energy.”

“Proves my point.”

“Fuck offffffffff.”

“Well if you’re gonna be like that I’ll just head back to the shadows.”

“Do it. You won’t. See if I care.”

“Not what your very dramatic statement earlier would seem to imply.”

“Temporary insanity. I heard they had another plan to get you out and lost my mind. Coulda happened to anyone.”

“Betsy don’t even talk about going into the shadows for me.”

“What, would it piss you off?”

“I’d never be mad at you, you know that.”

“Course I do, you’d know that if you read my le-”

“Hm?”

“Nothing. Nevermind. Look. I’m allowed to sacrifice myself without asking permission. You never do.”

“That was different. Plus the last one was an accident-”

“Whatever. If you do it again I’ll personally murder every single pitcher worse than me so I guaran-fucking-tee it’ll be me going in after you.”

“C’mon, Bets.”

“And I’m a really fuckin good pitcher so that’ll be a big fuckin bodycount right there. Jaylen’s gonna be so fucking jealous.”

“I’d just sacrifice myself again, you know. I’m so good at it now, you wouldn’t even be in the shadows for a day.”

“Try me. I’d be right back in after you, bitch.”

“Glad you haven’t changed, Betsy.”

“Course I haven’t. Can’t mess with perfection. … But uh. You too, same thing.”

Mike smiled.

“Kay are we done here? I’ve got uh. Band practice or something.”

“Sure. See you around.”

“Yeah. See ya.”

Betsy fled the Garages’ kitchen, pausing briefly in the doorway as unsaid sentences bubbled up, echoes of what they’d written in the now-masticated letter. They swallowed them down. Plenty of time to say them, now. No rush.

**Author's Note:**

> "tam are you ever going to finish any of the six things you have in progress" look, at this rate? probably not. but we were throwing around ideas and this one was too enticing to pass up. plus, i got it done in one sitting so it's not as bad as some of my other ones. hopefully more betsy soon, i'm doing my best c:


End file.
